Madden 3DS: In Your Face

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EA is breaking its late summer release schedule so Nintendo's portable has some football at launch.

By Richard George

Nintendo's 3DS launch will feature 18 titles, but few stand out as much as EA's Madden NFL Football. The juggernaut franchise, one of the industry's biggest, has traditionally shipped late in the summer, just in time for the beginning of the football season. EA is breaking that cycle for the 3DS, making sure the portable has plenty of NFL action from the moment it launches on March 27.

Though I was curious about the game's features, I was most eager to find out how powerful the 3DS was compared to next-gen consoles, and if EA was able to use assets from the home console games in this new portable version. Ryan Stradling, EA Sports' Director of Product Development, told me the team was very impressed with the system's power and GPU, which no doubt played a role in a hybrid approach to development. At the core of the game is EA's Wii Madden engine, albeit with character models that have been remodeled to provide for a more realistic look. What's interesting is the team then rounded out this realistic look by using texture assets from the 360 and PS3 Madden games.

Let's hope the Cowboys pull it together next season.

Stradling was also quick to point out this game shouldn't be considered a straight port, and that the team focused on working with the 3DS's capabilities, both in terms of control and visuals. "We have added some tweaks, including taking advantage of the Nintendo 3DS hardware. We have fully redone the UI to take advantage of the 3D and the touch screen. We have reworked the cameras for 3D. We have also added context sensitive actions, so when you press the A button while running with the ball, the runner will do things that make sense per the situation, like stiff arm or dive."

Does shifting a console experience to a handheld affect how the team approaches development? The experience of playing a handheld is different, so is the goal to replicate the console environment or to create something unique? Stradling noted that they certainly endeavored to bring the console game to the 3DS. EA's developers certainly kept the system's capabilities in mind. One of those capabilities allows players to draw their own plays with the 3DS stylus in the "Call Your Shots" mode. "We have created a game that plays like Madden, but is accessible," noted Stradling.

Some of the tweaks, like the context sensitive buttons, designed to introduce the franchise to those who have never played Madden before, might upset those who simply want a console experience brought to the portable. Don't worry. Stradling assured me Madden fans will still have full control. Classic and Arcade playcalling options are available, in addition to GameFlow, to break from the more context sensitive, automatic decisions. If you want to do something unconventional, you can go right ahead and do it. The game will also feature an arcade-like 5 vs. 5, the standard 11 vs. 11 and a season mode.

Let's face it, Saints fans. Losing to the Dolphins wouldn't be as bad as losing to the Seahawks.

There does seem to be a downside to arriving at launch, however. Though the 3DS certainly can support local and global online gameplay, Madden will not support either. In fact, the game isn't going to feature multiplayer of any sort. Stradling told me the team was focused on making sure it had created "the best single player Madden experience ever on a handheld." Perhaps future installments will add the ability to go head-to-head with friends. Also out this time around is support for SpotPass roster updates or any sort of Play Coin functionality. And while the game will feature the entire Madden '11 soundtrack, players shouldn't expect to be able to import their own music from a SD card.

Despite its streamlined approach, Madden is still worth keeping an eye on as the launch of the 3DS approaches. EA's previous hands-on opportunity for the game, at Nintendo's 3DS preview in January, featured a very basic, short demo. The publisher is telling me I'll have a shot at a near-complete version of the game any day now. When I have some more time, I'll report back and let you know how the single-player focused, off-cycle release of gaming's juggernaut sports franchise is shaping up, and if you should set aside some money to pick it up when the system launches.